"Mystery" of the chemical smell in Punggol and Sengkang is no mystery at all

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"Mystery" of the chemical smell in Punggol and Sengkang is no mystery at all

I read with much bore the article in the Straits Times on Friday, 3rd December 2010, titled "Chemical Smell Did Not Originate In Singapore". I can't believe NEA is still hiding this matter and hundreds of Singaporeans living in Punggol and Sengkang are stupid enough not to know where the smell came from. NEA is obviously trying to hide something from the people as the truth will mean more people vacating punggol and sengkang due to the poison air. The following is a 2007 article I have found in the Straits Times:

Ensuring clean air should be part of Punggol plans

Weekend • October 6, 2007

Letter from James Chi Han-Hsuan
Letter from Winnie See

There has been much hype about the Government's recently-announced plans to make Punggol 21 a more vibrant estate.

However, I feel there is a more important matter that should be addressed — pollution from Pasir Gudang in Malaysia.

I used to live in Punggol and have experienced air pollution from Malaysia. A stretch of petrochemical plants lies just across the waterway from Punggol beach. These plants operate around the clock.

Toxic fumes from these plants, often seen in the form of enormous black clouds, constantly drift to our shores. The smell can become almost unbearable at night.

My wife and I used to have to cover our noses all the way from the basement carpark to our apartment due to the pungent smell of chemicals. Once inside our apartment, we had to shut our doors and windows as the fumes would drift into our home.

My wife and I often suffered from severe headaches and seldom enjoyed any fresh air despite living so close to the beach.

The National Environment Agency claimed that the pollution was within an acceptable level. However, I believe the fumes pose a health risk, as seen by the headaches my wife and I suffered. I hope the authorities can investigate this matter.

In addition to developing Punggol, the Government should also address the pollution issue. Now that I have moved to Bukit Batok, I am glad I do not have to tolerate the polluted air in Punggol anymore.

never underestimate what the petrochemical plant in pasir gudang can do. Take a drive to punggol jetty at night and you won't be able to take the smell outside your car for more than 5 minutes. the flares in pasir gudang burn round the clock and there is nothing our government can do coz it is not our territory. with our government's multi multi-million dollar plan to develop punggol and many HDB flats and condo projects coming up in that area, would NEA simply admit that the petrochemical plants in malaysia are poisoning Singaporeans with toxic fumes and send their housing projects in the area to the dumps? The fumes are scattered around the island depending on the wind, but the Punggol and Sengkang residents get it worst.

Excellent revelation. No wonder NEA kept quiet. I would have thought that at the forefront, they would know immediately where the smell originated or thought to have originated from. Never liked Sengkang or Punggol type of areas all these while. Total maze and too far removed from anything practical

Why don't you write to the media or STOMP and let NEA get the bad press?

Southern region seems to have the best quality of air. Central has the highest level of carbon monoxide due to high volume of vehicles. Would CBD fall under South or Central? As for PG and SK, go figure.